A real-time reconstruction of an armed robbery on Twitter has led to a violent father and his son being jailed.

Terrance Clark, 50, has been sentenced to life in prison and his 27-year-old son Lewis received a 16-year prison sentence after the pair held a cash delivery driver at gunpoint in Epsom, Surrey, last year.

A month after the attack, Surrey Police re-staged the
crime on the social networking website, using photographs and maps to
recreate the events leading up to the incident.

Each incident was posted at the same time they took place on the day of the attack.

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Violent pair: Terrance Clark, 50 (left) and his son Lewis, 27, (right) were jailed after a re-enactment of an armed robbery in Epsom, Surrey, on Twitter strengthened the case against them

Re-staging: Surrey Police begin the real-time re-enactment by asking followers if they could help with the investigation

The move, named Operation Jadeite, led to
40 calls, each with additional information about the crime which
strengthened the case used to convict them at Guildford Crown Court.

The pair viciously attacked James Smith in January 2013 and snatched a cashbox containing
£45,000.

They pulled the trigger of the gun, but when it failed to go off, they pistol-whipped the ex-soldier

The men knocked out his front teeth and injured his face and hands. He needed bone grafts and implants.

Afterwards, they fled in a white Chevrolet and dumped it on a road nearby.

Map: They appealed to members of the public living in the Tattenham Crescent area of Epsom, asking them to stay tuned so they could 'help the investigation'

Using the hashtags #tweconstruction and #opjadeite, the events of the morning of the robbery were tweeted in real-time by Surrey Police on March 1 in a bid to trace further witnesses.

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The reconstruction began with an appeal to the force's followers, asking if they lived in the area surrounding the shop on Tattenham Crescent.

At 10.15am, they posted an image of the Chevrolet which was spotted circling the scene throughout the morning.

They uploaded another 12 tweets detailing the time the attack took place as well as the suspects' escape route.

Vehicle: The staging of events leading up to the robbery started at 10.15am and included a picture of a white Chevrolet that was seen circling the scene

Arrival: The force then reports the moment the delivery van, driven by victim James Smith, pulls up

The move helped collect evidence that
led to the pair being convicted of conspiracy to rob and possession of
an imitation fireman with criminal intent.

The
men, from Battersea, south London, had previous convictions for violent
offences including cash-in-transit robbery were sentenced following an eight-day trial last month

Detective
Chief Inspector Paul Rymarz said: 'The Clarks are clearly extremely
dangerous individuals and thankfully due to the verdict today are likely
to remain off the streets of Surrey for some time.

'Neither
Terrance nor Lewis have shown a shred of remorse for this horrific
crime, which was committed for no other reason other than pure greed.

'Although we cannot turn back the
clock for the victim, I hope the verdict today will go some way to allow
him and his family to move on for this horrendous ordeal.'

He
added: 'One month after the event occurred we were still appealing for
witnesses and we believed by using social media we would be able to
reach a large number of people very quickly.

Appeal: The scene of the crime, a Co-Op, was then posted on the social networking site

Terrifying moment: The passengers of the white Chevrolet in question jump out of the car to rob the driver at gunpoint. They knocked out his teeth when they pistol-whipped him

'Following the social media appeal information was passed to the investigation team.'

The
delivery driver, James Smith told the court: 'No amount of training could ever prepare you for that experience.

'It
is unbelievable how quickly your life can change. The little things you
once took for granted are taken away from you at no fault of your own.'

Terrance
Clark was arrested within hours of the robbery and his son was arrested
after six days, but police then launched into a 'thorough' nine-month
investigation.

As well as
the Twitter reconstruction, officers checked CCTV film, conducted
financial investigations and carried out mobile phone analysis.

Escape: Officers then trace the route the Chevrolet is believed to have taken on Google Maps